Friday, October 1, 2010

Brother Juniper's wild rice and onion bread

I just got the updated edition of Peter Reinhart's Brother Juniper's Bread Book: Slow Rise as Method and Metaphor. I've only skimmed it, liking very much what I've seen, but I did take a stab at the recipe for wild rice and onion bread.

Rather than wild rice I used leftover red jasmine rice, and I also chose the fresh onion variation rather than dried. Executive summary: fantastic!


It's slightly sweet, nicely oniony, very tender, and when freshly baked had a superb crackly crust.


Ingredients:
  • 4 cups bread flour
  • 4 cups AP flour
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar
  • 2.5 tablespoons active dry yeast proofed in 4 tablespoons water
  • 1.5 tablespoons salt
  • 1 cup cooked red jasmine rice
  • 1/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1.5 cups water

All the dry ingredients are mixed and then liquids added. I kneaded it in the KitchenAid for about 8 minutes. With this much yeast and sugar it rises aggressively. The first rise was an hour. I formed two loaves and let them rise for another hour. Baking time at 350 degrees was close to an hour. Because the dough contains brown sugar and buttermilk it's important to bake at a lower temperature or the crust will scorch.

This is a good way to use leftover rice. I'd like to try it with a wild rice blend to see how it differs, but the red jasmine rice is also very flavorful, nutty, and firm. I wonder how the recipe would take to a doubling of the rice.

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